SAUGERTIES, N.Y. -- It would be fiscally irresponsible for the Saugerties school district to agree to wage increases for members of its teachers' union that would "decimate education programs and cause significant layoffs," the school superintendent said in an internal memo on Friday.

Seth Turner issued the memo to all staff members to update them on the status of contract negotiations between the school district and the Saugerties Teachers' Association. He said the two sides participated in a "superconciliation" meeting on Wednesday but were unable to reach an agreement on a new employee contract to replace the one that expired on June 30, 2010.

The issues at the center of negotiations include salary increases for teachers, adjustments in health insurance contributions and increases in the district's contribution to the teachers' welfare fund, Turner said.

The superconciliation essentially was the final step in the negotiation process, Turner said.

Advertisement

Asked for a response to the staff memo, a copy of which was obtained by the Freeman, teachers' union President Robert Slate said: "It was an incomplete account of the events of that evening, which can only be appreciated with a true historical perspective of the process."

The district and its teachers' union declared an impasse in negotiations toward a new contract on March 21, 2011. The New York Public Employment Relations Board then assigned independent fact-finder Sumner Shapiro to mediate the dispute, and he issued nonbinding recommendations on July 26 of that year. But even with those recommendations, the two sides were unable to reach a new contract and ultimately agreed to the superconciliation to try to resolve outstanding issues.

Turner said a number of economic factors have changed in the district in recent months. He said the district's contribution to the state Teachers' Retirement System is projected to increase by as much as $870,000 in the coming school year and its health insurance costs are to increase by $400,000.

Turner also said state aid to the district was cut by approximately $210,000.

"In an effort to settle the contract, the Board (of Education) presented the union with an offer in excess of what it would have paid under an expired contract," Turner wrote in his memo. "This was done in an attempt to settle the contract, even though it meant that additional jobs would be cut and/or the small reserve fund would be further reduced."

Turner said the district offered a 0.5 percent salary increase to union members effective Feb. 1 and an additional 0.5 percent at the beginning of each of the next two school years.

Additionally, Turner said, the offer proposed withdrawing all outstanding litigation, including grievances and improper-practice charges, as part of the settlement. He said this would avoid unnecessary legal expenses on both sides.

The district asked union members to pay an additional 1 percentage point for their health care premiums, effective Feb. 1, and another 1 point each of the next two school years, bringing the total from a 10 percent contribution to a 13 percent contribution, Turner said.

"When this offer was made through the superconciliator, it was rejected outright, and no counteroffer was presented by the union," the superintendent said. "The board negotiated in good faith, and the union refused to modify the offer they had made months earlier, prior to the changes in the economic picture for the district."

He also said the district is trying to preserve jobs and education programs while being fair to its teachers.

"At a time when the district required the help of the union leadership, the union leadership has refused to budge," Turner said. "Both the administration and the board are extremely disappointed with the union leadership's response and refusal to recognize the economic realities of the time and its unwillingness to place the interests of the students ahead of the financial interests of its members."